Part 48
Sitemap --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- - More interesting items/ideas for a BioShock Rapture MMORPG --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- - ''' Part 48' --- --- --- --- --- '''Homes of the Rich and Famous :' The Rich escaping doomsday ... Some Rich people had mansions built in more exclusive locations outside of (but connected to) Rapture. Many had enough money to simply have what they wanted built (let the Player Creators's creativity be unleashed ...) The Wales Brothers and other architects/engineers were available who could get such monstrous/daring things built (and have a good chance of not falling down or collapsing under the weight of the Sea). Prentis Mill had a mansion built above Millville (north of Welcome Center) which looked like something a railroad tycoon would have (it even had a private AE siding for his private Train). Ryan's mansion (how many different versions of "Atlas Supporting The World" statuary can you count there ??).. He didn't spend much time there and near the end (BS1) was almost exclusively living at Rapture Central Control. Early on, private Atlantic Express Traincars would have been 'the thing' for anyone who thought themself 'At the Top'. Submarine docks/garage for luxury subs (ie- a customized Austen Streamliner Submarine - ) Private Bathysphere Line into one of the major hubs (added later after the Metro consolidation) or a transfer tube to the nearest Cable Station. Huge Scenic windows which DID cost a fortune (like those huge ones in Neptunes bounty that didn't belong in an industrial plant, but WOULD in a rich man's extravagant mansion). Large impressive Sea Gardens out in the Ocean for some of those windows to look out upon. Underground 'grounds'(tunnels/caverns) to go horse riding in or to shoot 'game' (ostentatious, but what else is there to spend money on to show off ?? The rock cutting technology made it cheap to have extensive underground (bedrock) tunnels and caverns built. Selling off all their Surface holdings would leave various Rich people (who previously owned many houses and properties), wanting at least one substantial 'Show' of their wealth. Rich people often have armies of employees to maintain their mansions and to support the lifestyle they were accustomed to. So There would have to be all the infrastructure to support these employees. --- --- --- Greatly increase Defensive skills to reshape Combat : For this game, having combat be alot less fatal would be important (for being able to 'save' your Splicer adversaries, as well as having the Players not die constantly from bad situations). So boosting the effectiveness of defensive skills and actions could at least give the player more time to figure out the situation and use more of the available tactics effectively. (Less than optimal weapons might also help). More realistic accuracy might help defense, but at the same time would make offense harder also. You would want more time to react to things and to setup clever tactics/counter-moves with your NPC 'Team', instead of the typical BioShock firefights which are over in 5 to 20 seconds (or a long sequence of 5 second slaughters against a Splicer horde). There could still be some split-second action, but a majority should be slowed down -- but WITHOUT the rediculously tiny 'hit damage' increments for things that aught to be shredding your character (rely on the cover, bad lighting, and poor marksmanship...). --- --- --- I really wish we had a 'Taunt' Button like we did in other games : Even if with Delta 'OOOOMMMing' and 'ARGGGGhing' audibly , with funny captioned translations shown - appropriate to the current dialog/radio messages or opponent type it is addressed to. All Sophia Lamb's propaganda spew and whining and threats - it would have been nice to answer her back as she deserved. Grace was pretty annoying too. (Though it would have to wait until they got out their little Spiel first). Then having the other party reply/react in some appropriate way would be even better. Some simple dialog sequences with canned verbal interactions would be a good idea for the MMORPG - built into Quests/Missions and also general responses from NPCs and Splicers (have Player Creators writing up alot of different ones so as to not be too repetitive - Voice acting as usual complicates creating such Assets). Heh, this would be a good addition for the 'historic' situation recreations - giving you the opportunity you were denied in the original games. --- --- --- "Need Cash - Donate Blood $$$ - Fontaine Clinics" : Convenient way to obtain human biological matter for experimentation (Possibly get some ADAM back too) or at least to use the Blood to train the Little Sisters - takes some skill to drink blood that fast without gagging... --- --- --- Return of the et Postal System to New Rapture : Parts of Jet Postal system that still work (all these years later) -- Sinclair sends you (Delta) some stuff through one (from Dionysus) when you are going into the Pump Station in Sirens Alley. You see stuff flying by in transparent tubs in the workshop area of the AE Depot (an amusing visual, but not exactly how the real ones work). If you spare Grace (if you didn't, are you wearing her head on your diving belt ??), she sends you some goodies from Paupers Drop... Getting the Pneumo system (parts of it) working again would be one of the goals for New Rapture. Fortunately, the system was built decentralized with redundancy built into the mechanisms. The main trunk lines could be employed with manual assistance/control at either end, at least to deliver between different areas of the City. Postmen could deliver as in the old days ( "neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night...", but that motto didn't contend with murderous Splicers... ) --- --- --- Ryan - much smarter than Devs give him credit (or HE would be smarter than they are...) : Ryan allegedly sends Splicers when YOU get to Smugglers Den ... Maybe Ryan was using YOU as a bird-dog to discover its location ??? The WYK room shows Ryan worked much of the situation out (for quite a while already. Could all that stuff be done within a few hours of Jack arriving??) and it very possible that Ryan was using YOU (Jack) to lead him to Atlas/Fontaine. This would be one of the Lore extensions in the MMORPG. Revisiting what we experienced in BS1/BS2/MD from another viewpoint to show the truth (verbatim recreations shown with additional info filled in) would be very interesting (and a great creation for Player Creators to Work on and refine). There's that whole set of happenings in those games which could be recreated, and have all the more complex interconnections of events/motives/reasons illustrated (and the Players would love every bit of it). --- --- --- Big Daddies - Repairmen : "A Stitch in time saves Nine" isn't about sewing cats, it is about doing preventive maintenance to keep something from eventually falling apart (and wreaking havoc). Big Daddies thus would best fix things BEFORE they become a problem - plugging/patching minor leaks before they grew into major ones, treating/stopping corrosion, unclogging blockages, reinforcing things to a point it is no longer a risk (welding more metal in place, bolstering a concrete wall to strengthen it....) How do the BDs sense problems before the problem develops? * Constantly inspecting things helps (naming BD mindless brutes is just stupid). * Sound travels better through water and BDs can hear the sounds structures make (They can FEEL Rapture in distress...) * The sounds they make can cause materials to vibrate which can indicate defects (cracks make dull reflections of sound) * Sometimes they get reports/orders from a central computer that has its own sensors/monitors, gets reports form Citizens ("Dial 555 to report a Leak"), and correlates/tracks/coordinates developing situations. The BD Central controller can keep track of inspection coverage and increase attentions to problem areas (and predict problems based on the histories of similar situations). "The Thinkers" Predictive capabilities were developed for such an operation. Even without supervision/external guidance Big Daddies would continue their crucial work. It would be interesting to see more of the training facilities used to condition and train the Cities Maintenance Cyborgs (which predated the 'Protectors' by many years). Even more interesting would be a role-playing ramp of the Player playing a Maintenance Cyborg Big Daddy and working your way up the levels of abilities/skills and experiencing their life/work and those places you might not see otherwise. --- --- --- Emotes which NPCs React to : Common everyday gestures while 'in town' or signals for adventuring type activities (ex- signalling 'Help I am impaled on a chunk of rebar...'.) With the other talk of using a voice input mechanism for the game (for certain things instead of endless arbitrary button/combinations or activation tiles that don't mnemonically really look like anything). Single word commands should include 'emote' activations (some player controlled/guided NPC 'Teams' use certain gestures as 'triggers' for predefined/customized tactics/strategies). Trigger phrases probably work similarly when silence isn't needed (Shouting "Geromino", or "NOW", etc.... which would be pre-arranged signals ). --- --- --- Say "Cheese" !! ( and not that stuff synthesized from kelp either ) ... " Taking In-Game pictures for a Player's In-Game Picture Album. (Heh - like a 'before and after' Cure picture of yourself - optional, as some people would want to forget...). Some Players would be amused with time-lapse pictures of their Team 'base' being reconstituted/rebuilt. Ordinary cameras are (more) common in Rapture (than those rare Research Cameras). Taking pictures probably will have a place in some Quests and Roles (Spy on the Faction Activity, Take picture of site damage so work and resources can be estimated, Scoop the Newsie for an important event, etc...). Get that picture of the elusive 'Big Al' (Gil Alexander) out in the murk. --- --- --- Why Seaslug nerve cells are used for the Neuristor Bio-electronics : SeaSlugs were extensively researched as part of scientists ADAM developments (and many were collected which were wrong type). Chemicals to get the cells/tissue to assume certain shapes/geometries required for 'circuit building' had already been researched/developed. http://www.sciencephoto.com/media/348066/view Their Nerve cells are Larger in size (easier to see/make modifications during research - also easier to interface more normal electronics to (need to interface/connect to electric circuitry) http://www.imec.be/ScientificReport/SR2009/HTML/2010/afbeeldingen/SR043F2.jpg Simpler function, more robust than human cells. Conditioning of them was researched as part of SeaSlug 'domestication' efforts. Genetics simpler than higher lifeforms, simplifying the many genetic/physiological manipulations to make their Bio-Electronic use 'workable'. http://www.sciencephoto.com/media/348086/view Reacts in more predictable ways to ADAM chemistry manipulation (the ADAM-containing secretion is thought to serve as a toxin stunning the Seaslugs 'prey' in the Ocean). The 'Baking' operation requires forcing cells to absorb certain metallic chemicals to turn them into transistor-like circuitry. http://www.sciencephoto.com/media/348076/view Educational Film shown to Rapture students - 'Our Mr Seaslug', with a narrator who sounds strangely like Orson Welles... http://www.bio.brandeis.edu/lismanlab/images/Dentate-CA3-circuitry.gif --- --- --- Bullet proof windows : ''' Game can't have Players dooming Rapture to drowning everywhere they go (by design or accident) and the windows are the building structure's weakest spots. First, it needs to be a material that can withstand the great force of the seawater pushing against it from the outside, with large areas supported only at the edges (why I make fun of those HUGE window panes in Neptune Bounty). Second, as used, the window material is quite thick (likely a 600% engineering margin by glaziers who wouldn't want the lawsuits/infamy for being responsible for drowning parts of Rapture thru negligence). The distorted outside views we see indicate this, but real it is still pretty clear for 'glass' over a foot thick. Third, a double glazing (its what you see shatter/crack) used as insulation, with the stronger main pane structure behind it (and apparently unbreakable by our weapons) You might have some weirdness about self healing glazing glass being used (watch the marred spots disappear after a time...) Some plastics can do that (self cleaning ones would be even better). Big Sisters seem able to break the Window glass (their usual attitude should have had them wanting to fight you - but that one in Adonis Luxury Resort didn't even stick around to kill you, which seemed to be its orders - probably got a haranguing from Sofia for that oversight). This magic Ryanium stuff was invented in the Novel to explain how this might work, as normal glass (even with much more realist small windows) cannot do what is shown, but some plastics might (as long as whatever explosions are thrown at them are kept relatively weak - and the inner glazing acting as a spacer might help a little there). --- --- --- '''Scene Recombination - why dont they do this in the current commercial games ? : When I was looking at the speculations on BioShock Infinite (before it came out and showed itself as "more of the same"), some ideas came to mind of what such limited games MIGHT do to be different/superior : Recombine various elements for different play-thrus (something which CAN be done even with largely static levels by changing object content which gets placed within the static terrain) ... * NPC enemy Spawns to vary in location, numbers and makeup (variations so you wont know on "Reloading a Save" EXACTLY where the baddies who killed you will be THIS time). Varying tactics by NPCs would be good also. Varying the appearance of individual NPCs might be nice, but as they usually hurl themselves at on sight, you don't get much time to admire them. Area NPCs should still be locally thematic (appropriate type for area or point in the plot), but variations could change the tactics the player need use. * Different weather/atmospheric/lighting effects to make locations look different, have different levels of visual impairment. (Imagine playing the same scene in flashlight mode the second time - with things creeping up on you...). Weather might dictate what different tactics work or don't (ie- Fire Attacks don't work when its raining...) * Different positioning/quantity/selection of Props - weapons, throwables, powerups/charges/ammo, terrain blocking/cover (things you can hide behind). The tools the player uses could be a different combination each time (and random positioning over a large number of possible locations). * Different skills (Plasmid/Tonic equiv). This changes the options players have available to them (like if you never got Electro-bolt or Incinerate - you would have to make more use of other 'abilities' you did possess - similar to varying weapon mix). * In BS:Infinity they had the 'Tears' which could have likewise been scrambled (they take alot more custom scripting/Asset building, so creating a bigger set of them to randomly offer as options, that is a bit harder to accomplish). * Path of scenes (levels) Player goes thru might vary or even be determined by Player's choice -- took the left turn instead of the right or different sets of portals that are available (mutatable maze). This plays hob with continuous/developmental plot progressions and sequenced explanatory devices (ie- audio-diaries, NPC spiels). This would cause problems in making variations work smoothly/cohesively (so I would judge least likely to be done). It also costs ALOT to develop a bigger set of optional terrain scenes (levels) which might not all be used in each playthru. Things like this in Solo games might make each playthru significantly different (and thus increase payoff for Player bothering to replay - important as game playtimes (hours to finish) keep shrinking). It is called 'reuse', and with the cost of Assets still going up, Players still want to get their moneys worth and THIS is a way to stretch the game's components a bit more. For the BioShock MMORPG Quests/Missions, such variations would be EXPECTED and FACILITATED, perhaps done much more flexibly/easily because of the modular nature of the entire game mechanism. Auto-Generation mechanisms are fundamental in the game system. . Reasons "why don't they do this in our Current Commercial Games" : * Inflexible scripting/control objects tightly tied to the terrain (new programming type scares them). Blame the Game Engine vendors. * Inefficiency and the Money it costs to do the simplest things (and repetition everywhere with well worn mechnisms) * Testing/Debugging is harder with more combinations/interactions between sets of objects/Player. Tuning the game even harder - too many combinatorics. * General AI/behavior is hard. Purpose built set-piece triggered "dumb" AI is much easier to produce * More variants required for substitutions cost more to make the spares * Players don't want challenge, once killed by a trick, want to defeat THAT non-changing now-obvious trick. Many want to be able to look up (cheat books, internet) exactly what they need to do to 'beat' the situation. * Company does not want a great game that Player plays over and over, instead of moving on to buy company's string of mediocre games for more $$$. * Money people (game industry) think its a risk, wont take a chance on funding it. Developers might not like doing something knew which they might be inept/fail to do properly (better to keep making the same lame stuff as long as the customers are stupid enough to keep buying it....) --- --- --- It is "Altruists" not "Altruism" being the Problem ? ' : Altruists are people who FORCE others to 'help other people unselfishly' (The typical Liberal : one who feels good about their allegedly 'helping' people (usually using OTHER people's money, and someone else doing the work, or who ''know best how other people should live ... for their own good), and frquently denounce others for not being as 'helpful' as themselves. Perhaps Ryan's statement is talking about how the idea of 'altruism' is abused so easily -- as a coercion by Parasites to force 'help' (often doing things which result in the opposite of helping), and use the fraud to gain power over others (which is NOT altruism) or to make a good living for themselves 'organizing such things without actually doing much (sponging off a charity). Where is the line? Artists create for others but seek acclaim (otherwise they could do it in private without fears of denouncement). Scientists discover, but again for recognition of moving knowledge ahead for everyone. Industry creates new/affordable goods for the populace while at the same time making money. None of these things benefits the doer only. Is a family member helping another family member altruism ? - Or does the tie of blood make it selfishness ? A friend helping a friend ?? Unfortunately, Ryan isn't given a voice in the game to explain much further. --- --- --- '''Polar Bear Hair as optical links (how does he come up with this shi...) : Clear 'light-pipe' hair core conducts sunlight into the bears skin past dense inner fur (for vitamin D production in dim arctic light) Length 2-6 inch, We see those bear trophies in the museums and apartments, and some Brain Boosted crank got an idea (probably started vai the opposite use - interior fur lighting effect, some rich person requested - glowing fur with points of light to show off ...). Combined with Bio-Luminescence Tech from the Sea Slug research, as well as light sensitive nerve cells. What does this mean ? Grids of data 'light' fibers connecting 'brain' modules in the Thinker. Modules made from Simple sea slug brains, trained for a variety of processing tasks. No smoking in here!! Smell of burnt hair and someone gets immediately fired... And weeks of work now needed to fix those parts ... This she-it is getting too weird ? Weirder than some of the things shown in the concept art ?? It is just little detail bits trying to make BioShock 'Sci-Fi', as it is SUPPOSED to be. --- --- --- MMORPG unfortunate play pattern : Congratulations on being the 200000th person to play this Quest Exactly the same - you win EXACTLY the same loot every one of the others got!!! - Set-in-Stone Quests - Just say NO : - Only place allowed would be New Citizen's Tutorials (and have them blatantly be Choreographed with purposely lame activities and stilted presentation.) - Maybe a section on the Test Servers with samples demonstrating what we DONT want for Quests/Missions to be in this game. --- --- --- Holding to Sci-Fi : BS:Infinite (Infinite BS) became a complete fantasy game, with alot of BS to try to make believe it was somehow related to BioShock. Why have the 'historical setting' (other than being able to copy styles the Devs weren't capable of creating on their own - cheap nostalgic elements somewhat recognizable for people largely ignorant of the era ). And as far as History goes - it is all some trendy Politically Correct make-believe which had very little resemblance to 1912 American reality. Columbia is a floating city of Strawmen (we should have had the Scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz running the place ...). The attempts to be a 'BioShock' game (brand name milked for sales potential) led to pathetically recreated old game elements to justify them claiming 'its the same thing' -- resulting in a poor belabored copy of the previous games. Introduction of the magic 'quantum physics' and Multiverse BS sent it further off into a La-La-Land where physical laws no longer apply, and any logic/reason/fact could be left at the door (gets in the way of the 'neat' special effects and simple console game mechanics). Now nothing need really be explained (the perfect Crutch of the amateur fiction writer), and any Story matters not as 'all possibilities exist' and nothing/everything really happened, and emotional involvement by the Player can be jerked around at a whim. A plot that would be rejected by a desperate 50s-era third-rate pulp Sci-Fi and Fantasy magazine. Seriously it would have made ALOT more sense as simply a Fever Dream DeWitt has after drinking some bad patent toothache medicine --- OR some twisted nightmare some deranged Splicer had in Rapture. . I Andrew Ryan Reject This !!! Is not the Player due a proper Sci-Fi game paid for by the Sweat of their Brow ??? The Game Companies say " NOOOOOOOOO! The players will eat whatever rubbish we set before them!! " SO I left the Parasites and created "BioShock: Rapture Reborn" , a MMORPG place where the Player will FEEL he is in a real World Under the Sea, and the Players IMAGINATION will Pull The Great Chain !!! ..... ' --- --- --- '''Rapture Football teams '(how do you have playoffs with only 4 teams ?) : * Stingers * Sea Bulls * Ryan's Raiders * Atlas Astros. (doubt it was THAT 'Atlas') Of course there would also be some amateur teams (though baseball would be bigger, more numerous) Rapture University Team(s) ... --- --- --- '''Plasmid Advertisement claims .. as honest as most advertisements which WE are bombarded with today... So don't try to read any exact truth or accuracy from them ... http://elliekin.deviantart.com/art/somethinginthesea-com-132942316 Perhaps you can do the old Uncle Fester (Adams Family ...) trick holding a lit lightbulb, but lighting things by zapping them at a distance for more than a moment is just advertising BS (Fontaine was a Conman - remember ...) --- --- --- . .